I remember the first time I stumbled upon Peter's blog, it actually wasn't one of his food posts, but a travel one, his Koh Samui post to be exact. I was awestruck by his travel photos until I discovered he was also an awesome food blogger/stylist/photogrpaher too, and that was it, blog-love at first sight.

Over to you Peter:

I've been wanting to present this creation for quite a while now but
never found the right opportunity to post it. As soon as Mowie asked me
to provide a guest post on his blog I knew this "celebration doughnut
cake" would be perfect. It's sweet, it has flowers and is quite
striking in appearance. A little like Mowie actually! Check out these stunning flowers Mowie shot recently. (Also I have to give credit where it's due. The idea for presenting this cake came form Heather's blog-thanks Heather!)

It's not really a cake in the traditional sense. More like a "grand
presentation" for an intimate affair. I made the doughnuts using a
dough enhanced with russet potatoes-the potatoes have a low moisture
content and produce a soft texture. And the icing has one of my favorite
flavours-rosewater. I know not everyone is a fan of rosewater-but if
you are, you are going to love the floral flavors of the icing. The
doughnuts were deep fried and in this instance I chose to use rice bran
oil which is quite healthy, has a high smoke point and is free of those
nasty trans fats. The final touch is to stack the doughnuts on top of
each other on a cake dish and decorate with red roses. I hope you like
my "celebration doughnut cake".

Heat the milk in a saucepan over a low heat until warm. Add the yeast and let it sit for 15 mins.

Put the potatoes in a large pot , cover with water and allow to boil, cooking the potatoes until tender.

Drain the potatoes thoroughly and pass through a "mouli" or ricer and place in a large bowl.

Add the eggs, flour, sugar, oil, zest and juice to the potatoes and
mix well to combine. Add the yeast mixture and proceed to knead well
adding more flour if necessary to keep the dough from becoming too
sticky.

Cover well and let the dough rise in a warm place for about one hour-it should have doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a floured bench to approx. 2 cm thickness

Use an 8cm round cutter to cut the doughnut shapes. Cut a small hole
in the centre of each doughnut using another smaller cutter, your thumb
or even the back of a wooden spoon.

Place the doughnuts on a tray lined with baking paper and allow to rise for another 15 mins.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a large pot. Allow the temperature
of the oil to get between 180-190 deg C (use a kitchen thermometer to be
sure!)

Fry a few doughnuts at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the fryer
and pot, for about 5 mins turning the doughnuts over halfway through.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Make the icing by mixing the water, rosewater and icing sugar in a
shallow bowl. We're looking at a slurry that is not too thick or too
thin. Adjust accordingly as you mix.

Dip the doughnuts in the icing and place on a separate tray. Allow the icing to set.

Assemble your "cake" by stacking the doughnuts on top of each other
following a circular motion. Place flowers in appropriate gaps and
serve!

I remember the first time I stumbled upon Peter's blog, it actually wasn't one of his food posts, but a travel one, his Koh Samui post to be exact. I was awestruck by his travel photos until I discovered he was also an awesome food blogger/stylist/photogrpaher too, and that was it, blog-love at first sight.

Over to you Peter:

I've been wanting to present this creation for quite a while now but
never found the right opportunity to post it. As soon as Mowie asked me
to provide a guest post on his blog I knew this "celebration doughnut
cake" would be perfect. It's sweet, it has flowers and is quite
striking in appearance. A little like Mowie actually! Check out these stunning flowers Mowie shot recently. (Also I have to give credit where it's due. The idea for presenting this cake came form Heather's blog-thanks Heather!)

It's not really a cake in the traditional sense. More like a "grand
presentation" for an intimate affair. I made the doughnuts using a
dough enhanced with russet potatoes-the potatoes have a low moisture
content and produce a soft texture. And the icing has one of my favorite
flavours-rosewater. I know not everyone is a fan of rosewater-but if
you are, you are going to love the floral flavors of the icing. The
doughnuts were deep fried and in this instance I chose to use rice bran
oil which is quite healthy, has a high smoke point and is free of those
nasty trans fats. The final touch is to stack the doughnuts on top of
each other on a cake dish and decorate with red roses. I hope you like
my "celebration doughnut cake".